Pope Leo XIV travels to the principality of Monaco today, becoming the first pope in nearly five centuries to visit the Mediterranean enclave and highlighting how small states can punch above their weight on the global stage. Monaco is also one of the few European countries where Catholicism is the official state religion. 

And Prince Albert recently refused a proposal to legalise abortion, citing the important role Catholicism plays in Monaco society. The decision was largely symbolic, since abortion is a constitutional right in France, which surrounds the coastal principality of 2.2 sq km.